Find out what our Guest Bloggers are getting up to. Throughtout the year we will be following the progress of our Guest Bloggers as they find a placement or keep us updated as to what they are doing on their placement. Click here to read all entries from our bloggers or click here to meet them.

My last month, my last pay packet and my last early start. Yes I finish my placement year at the end of this month, the 26th to be precise, exactly 18 more working days, but who is counting hey. The money will be missed, no doubt about that especially after I have just renewed my car insurance and have the rest of my holiday to pay off, great, yet another expensive month. It seems that when you work, everything costs more, or is it just that I buy more!?!

Last week was a good week, due entirely to the fact we were all on holiday. Outokumpu held what it calls a ‘Shutdown’ week, where a small number of staff come in to hold the fort whilst the rest of us are allocated a weeks holiday. This is done in a bid to reduce running costs and lower the overheads for the week, and may become a more common occurrence if the finances of the business worsen.

The week off was a much needed break and I feel much more refreshed now, however I am glad I am only here for one of these shut down weeks, as they take up large chunks of your holiday allowance and are allocated at a time when you may not be planning to use any of your holidays so dependant on how many shutdown periods there are over the year, decides how much holiday entitlement you have to take as and when you want.

I hope everyone who is looking at a placement next year has found one now, or is close to. I remember this time last year I was already starting at Outokumpu, I worked there 2-3 days a week over June to get trained up and to give them a hand whilst some of the other members of staff were on holiday. That feels like ages ago now, although as a whole the placement year does feel like it has gone pretty quickly and I have certainly had an experience.